NBC
Fans of football, Americana, and quality TV in general were rewarded for their good taste when Friday Night Lights and Parenthood crossed over in a very special web series, Friday Night at the Luncheonette. Dillon meets Berkeley when Amber (Mae Whitman) opens the studio one night to the best band in Christian speed metal, the Landry Clarke (Jesse Plemons) -fronted Crucifictorious, and an accompanying rager led by perpetual maker of bad decisions, Billy Riggins (Derek Phillips). Parenthood creator Jason Katims has found plenty of work around the Braverman clan for his FNL actors, casting Minka Kelly, Michael B. Jordan, and Phillips (whose wedding guest character must have been an identical cousin of Billy) in the family drama. But this is the first time the two tear-jerking shows have been confirmed to exist within the same universe. And that means that crossover can happen again! Obviously, we want more. Here are a few suggestions on how these characters can cross paths in the future.
1. Crucifictorius rolls through town again.
And Landry takes Amber on a date. Those two totally worked!
2. Kristina attends a special education conference out east.
She makes friends with a smart and warm Texan principal named Tami Taylor and they share a couple of bottles of wine in the hotel bar.
3. Matt and Julie open a gallery next door to Hank's studio.
And Sarah's photos are shown in their very first exhibit.
4. Eric goes out to visit Matt and Julie and is confused by the Berkeley-ness of it all.
"What do you mean these people don't care about football? Where can I get a damn steak?"
5. Tyra comes to UC Berkeley for her first year of teaching.
Drew falls madly in love with her.
6. Tim Riggins.
Whenever, wherever. Zero reasons needed.
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Netflix
The war for LGBTQ equality still rages on in America... mostly in Arizona. But luckily, television is making that struggle a little easier. More balanced and accurate portrayals of people under the rainbow flag are starting to crop up. This helps the community both on and off-screen. Openly gay actors like Zachary Quinto, Neil Patrick Harris, and Ellen Page can play straight. And straight actors like Cameron Monaghan, Andre Braugher, and Sara Ramirez can play for the other team. And LGBT actors like Laverne Cox and Jonathan Groff can play characters a little closer to themselves.
Television is making some pretty major political moves by exploring more than just character whose sexual identities are more complex than the labels of gay and lesbian. Cox has used her role on Orange Is the New Black to spread awareness of transphobia and other issues affecting the transgender community. There also is a movement towards exploring queer sexuality. Distinctly different from bisexuality, queer people don’t define their romantic partners by gender, instead embracing a fluid sexuality. There are even roles of LGBTQ young adults and children that allow these parties to be themselves, perhaps paving the way for boys who paint their nails and wear makeup to be free from bullying and discrimination.
Here are a few of our favorite, and arguably some of the most influential, LGBTQ characters on television. They show there is a wide spectrum of sexual preferences and gender identities but ultimately we are all people.
GALLERY: Our Favorite LGBTQ Characters on Television
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Comedy Central
On paper, Broad City and Girls are virtually the same. Both series are about educated, under-employed, hipster-adjacent single women in New York City. Both comedies take a drastically different approach to sex and relationships than Sex and the City. And yet, the shows couldn’t be more different. Broad City, by virtue of being on Comedy Central, is obviously opting for the LOLs. It’s also doing for New York what Portlandia does for the Pacific Northwest. Girls is written and directed by and stars Lena Dunham so it’s an invitation into her mind and sense of humor, and underneath her clothes. It has funny moments but seems to target a specific niche audience.
COMEDY
Both programs have some iconic comedy minds on board. Broad City was created by and stars Upright Citizen’s Brigade alums Illana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, and is produced by Amy Poehler, while Girls is produced by Judd Apatow. The main difference is that the former has the virtue of a broader sense of humor. Get it? Broad City ensures that everyone is in on the joke. It opts for absurdly wacky takes on real life scenarios. For example, the girls want to make money for a concert so they try everything from street peddling and office supply theft to naked maid service. The jokes go so far that at some point you will hop on board. Girls is very subtle in its humor. Outrageous things will happen, and you’ll laugh here and there. But then a huge conversation will erupt about these moments and you start to question if you were supposed to laugh in the first place.
Winner: Broad City
SEX
Both series take a frank view of sex. It’s great to see women at the helm of representations of female sexuality. It shows that despite the questionable feminism of Sex and the City , something good came of it. On Broad City, both girls frankly discuss their sex lives... occasionally during the act, via skype. The show doesn’t shy away from being graphic. And yet, Girls goes 10 steps further. Sure, Girls is on HBO and free to exhibit nudity and strong sexual content. But it really goes there. Whether it’s precariously pedophilic pillow talk, the girl from Roswell getting caught in the line of fire, or Dunham baring her breasts in every episode, the show opts for a hyper-real approach to sex. It explores the taboo, awkward, or painfully uncomfortable moments of America’s favorite pastime. Whether wanted or not, Girls is forcing people to confront their discomfort with and timidity about sex by facing it head on.
Winner: Girls
THE CITY
Girls seems like a photo-real version of the New York City in Friends. It may not be filmed on a Hollywood sound stage, but the vast majority of its characters are white and of superhuman attractiveness. Despite Dunham’s celebration of her nude body and a shocking full frontal by Bosom Buddies star Peter Scolari, the series tends to prominently feature hot-bodied model types. It exists in a parallel universe where the unemployed and baristas can afford large New York City apartments. In Season 2, the show’s solution for its lack of diversity was to have Hannah date Donald Glover for a few episodes. Remember, that very special Friends episode where Ross dated Aisha Tyler? We haven't come too far.
On Broad City, people look like people. People of all different shapes, sizes, and races pop in and out of the show. That’s what New York is. The question of race on the show is handled honestly. Illana has a friend with benefits played by black comedian Hannibal Buress. Although not politically correct, the show does acknowledge that Illana fetishizes him and most men by their race. It does not endorse these ideals, but serves to showcase the character as racially insensitive and a sexual predator.
Ultimately, it seems there’s a class distinction for both series. Broad City embraces the fact that the girls are broke and have to suffer to survive in New York. The humor, tension, and wild scenarios come when they try to make light of that struggle. Girls exaggerates the struggles of entitled young artists and professionals who seem to have no financial stakes. They seem oddly connected though; serendipitous book deals and financial opportunities happen as if by magic.
Winner: Broad City – there’s still a recession!
Which series do you prefer?
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Getty Images
After a very deliberately paced casting process, the new adventure in a galaxy far, far away in finally starting to take shape. According to Variety, John Boyega, Jesse Plemons, and Ed Speleers, as well as theater actors Ray Fisher and Matthew James Thomas are all in the running for the lead role in Star Wars: Episode VII. The role is rumored to be a Jedi apprentice, and will likely see the character learning the ways of the Jedi from Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker.
It seems that director J.J. Abrams is targeting relatively unkown actors for the lead roles, a move that worked wonders in A New Hope. In the past, Abrams and other members of the production have been vocal about returning the franchise to its roots, and evoking the qualities that made the original trilogy such a dearly beloved series among fans. After sifting through the short list of actors, we wondered which of the more notable names would go on to make the best Jedi apprentice.
JOHN BOYEGA
Notable Roles: Moses in Attack the Block.Jedi Potential: Jedis are the stoic protectors of the galaxy. As we saw in Attack the Block, Boyega can do stoic very well. But beyond that, Boyega’s turn in ATB also conveyed a hidden rage burning under the surface of his character, and the ability to give a nuanced performance is important considering how flat the Jedi have come across in the past. Seriously, Star Wars found a way to make Samuel L. Jackson boring.Lightsaber Prowess: In Attack the Block, Moses’ chosen weapon to fight off alien invaders is a katana, which is a weapon only a couple million technological innovations away from a lightsaber. By that logic, Boyega should be a natural, though some bandages might come in handy.
JESSE PLEMONS
Notable Roles: Todd in Breaking Bad, Landry in Friday Night Lights.Jedi Potential: There’s something inherently goofy about Jesse Plemons. Even when portraying a mush-mouthed sociopath in Breaking Bad, it was hard to stay mad at him. While those characteristics might have worked in the pitch black humor of Breaking Bad, we wonder how this might play in the Star Wars universe, especially considering how seriously the Jedi generally take themselves.Lightsaber Prowess: A true Renaissance man, Friday Night Lights’ Landry Clarke was not only one of the best kickers Dillon High School had ever seen, but he was also the lead singer in the Christian speed metal band Crucifictorious. When you’ve already touched greatness in faith based rock music and high school football, handling a lightsaber should be cake.
ED SPELEERS
Notable Roles: Eragon in Eragon, Jimmy in Downton Abbey.Jedi Potential: Speleers' first taste of fantasy filmmaking came in Eragon, a popular book series that didn't have the legs to last as a succesful film property. Speleers’ character on Downton Abbey, Jimmy, is the confident and charismatic footman at Downton, and his bravado and flirtatious tendancies have often gotten him in trouble at the estate. Words like "bravado" and "charisma" don't usually go hand in hand with Jedi, but afterthe prequel films, we don't think most fans would mind a little diversity in Jedi personalities.Lightsaber Prowess: There isn't much in the way of swordplay on the estate of Downton, but Speleers did get some bladework in while filming Eragon, so a lightsaber shouldn't be too big of an adjustment.
MATTHEW JAMES THOMAS
Notable Roles: Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.Jedi Potential: Thomas' time as the geeky arbiter of justice, Spider-Man, should give him an edge in the Jedi department. The infamous Broadway production was full of high flying wire work, so Thomas should be well equipped to handle any stunts in the upcoming film. In any case, Jedi are sort of the geeks of the galaxy anyway.Lightsaber Prowess: Peter Parker isn't one for swordplay, so Thomas might be a little lost during the lightsaber battles, but all of that Spidey training will still come in handy.
RAY FISHER
Notable Roles: Muhammad Ali in Fetch Clay, Make Man.Jedi Potential: A virtual unknown in the film world, Fisher doesn't have many big screen credits as of yet, but the young thespian does have a good amount of experience in theater. The actor recently played Muhammad Ali in the off-Broadway production of Fetch Clay, Make Man. Ali was a fierce boxer as well as a thinker, and the Jedi order has the same dichotomy of violence and philosophy. We think Fisher may be more qualified for the Jedi Robes than his IMDB page lets on. He'll certainly be the coolest Jedi ever.Lightsaber Prowess: Honestly, who needs lightsabers when you're the heavyweight champion of the world? The force is strong with this one, even without any laser sword experience.
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Lionsgate via Everett Collection
Performing is performing. ‘Nuff said. But there are different skills for singing and acting. You wouldn’t want a dance track by Patrick Stewart featuring Ian McKellan (okay, bad example, that sounds awesome). You also wouldn’t watch The English Patient with Justin Bieber. Or Apollo 13 with the boys from 98 Degrees. Or Crossroads with Britney Spears. But music artists like Mark Wahlberg, Queen Latifah, and Mandy Moore have all found great success by answering the call of the silver screen. Acting and singing are two different skills but some singers have managed to give some really amazing performances. Here are a few of our favorites.
Alecia Moore (Pink) in Thanks for Sharing
This heartfelt dramedy about sex addicts slipped under the radar. However, Pink’s performance shows that she’s more than just a singer... and acrobat. Her choice to use her real name to distinguish her acting from her music shows she’s serious. She plays a no-nonsense girl, which is pretty true to form, but she captures the humanity of the burden of sex addiction.
Mariah Carey in Precious
It’s hard to imagine the insanely high maintenance Carey without makeup. However, for her role in Precious, Carey abandoned her diva image in favor of playing a stern social worker. Carey’s acting abilities have incorrectly tied to the ill-fated flop Glitter. However, Carey is able to embody roles that are way more folksy and real than her media persona. Carey also deserves an honorable mention for her role in the film WiseGirls. The film is forgettable but her performance as a smart-mouthed waitress is impressive.
Cyndi Lauper in Vibes
Lauper rarely gets her due as an actress. She is an amazing performer and is only an Oscar away from EGOT-ing. Her thick New York accent puts her in that Joe Pesci category of actors who must play New Yorkers or Italian Americans. All the same, in the 1980s Lauper had top billing in a comedy about psychics starring Jeff Goldblum. The film did not do well box office wise but Lauper proves herself to be both compelling and funny.
Whitney Houston in Waiting to Exhale
It’s sad that Houston’s amazing talent is often eclipsed by her personal issues. Not only was she an amazing singer, she was a very gifted actress. Her role in this drama, based on the popular Terry McMillan novel, showcased not only her solid acting chops but also her ability to draw an audience. She was able to hold her own against the likes of Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine.
Diana Ross in Mahogany
Ross is an icon. Her songs are timeless. Her performance in this film is legendary. She plays a young girl who gets transformed into a supermodel with tons of booze and poor choices along the way. Plus, her love interests are Norman Bates and Lando Calrissian. Pop reference overload.
David Bowie in Labyrinth
Bowie’s performance in this bizarre children’s movie shaped a generation. They were either scared by goblins, engrossed in the music, or titillated by Bowie’s royal jewels visible in his tights. Bowie does deserve some credit for the acting challenge of performing exclusively with Muppets. Jennifer Connelly is one quarter Muppet, right?
Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
Hudson earned an Oscar for her role in the film version of this popular musical. She has the pipes to sing the popular song “I Am Telling You.” She also has the ability to shine as the breakout star of this blockbuster. She is scrappy yet vulnerable, and proved to be the surprising highlight of this star-studded film.
Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur in Poetic Justice
Both Jackson and Shakur acting experience before Poetic Justice. Jackson did a lot of television shows like Fame and Diff’rent Strokes, which was an extension her squeaky clean pop star image. Shakur also kept his gangsta rap image for his role in Juice. Both actors stepped out of their comfort zones in this 1990s classic. Jackson opted for a harder exterior and a rougher neck. Shakur showed his softer side. Check out this clip that has enough F-bombs to rival Wolf of Wall Street.
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Splash News
At the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Rita Moreno added The Lifetime Achievement Award to her heavily populated display. That same night, Sofia Vergara also won an award as part of the Modern Family ensemble. In the 50 years since Moreno’s iconic role in West Side Story, things haven’t changed much for Latinos in Hollywood. Women have swapped bare feet and cascading skirts for high heels and mini skirts. Men have gone from playing fieldhands and gang members to... also playing dishwashers. White actors still act in brownface portraying Latinos as loud and ignorant. When are things going to change?
Latinos are 17 percent of the U.S. population and the largest minority group. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. And yet, Latinos are not widely represented in American media. The Spanish speaking populace has somehow become synonymous with ignorance on TV. When Latinos are represented they are often portrayed as violent, quick-tempered, and hypersexual. Case in point: Vergara’s character in Modern Family is prone to outbursts and is often half-naked, and the lion’s share of her jokes is about her trouble with English.
Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek Are Different People!
Latinos come from countries in The Caribbean, Central America, and South America. These different countries are united by the Spanish language. This would be like considering people from Hong Kong, India, Australia, and the Bahamas one race because they all speak English and drink tea. The diversity of Latinos seems to perplex Hollywood. Penelope Cruz was listed as Salma Hayek on the Academy Awards Instagram page. Cruz is a 5'6" European woman and Hayek is a 5'3" Mexican. They may speak the same language but Cruz’s career is more similar to Monica Bellucci. Both actors had thriving film careers in Europe and were seamlessly incorporated into American casting. Hayek had to claw her way from playing prostitutes and stereotypical bit parts in Hollywood to getting a big break.
Market Split
Latin spending power is diluted between the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking markets. There are Spanish language networks that cater to recent immigrants and abuelas everywhere. They broadcast novellas, Spanish soap operas, and original programming. It can be challenging to try and unite Spanish-speaking and English-speaking audiences. Mainstream crossovers can be challenging because Latino celebrities are not widely known in America. Chasing Papi was an English-language Latino comedy featuring a young Vergara, and a who’s who of Latino celebrities. However, it was unable to resonate with American audiences.
Brown Face
In West Side Story, white and Latino actors were literally painted brown to distinguish them as the Puerto Ricans. Despite being Puerto Rican, Moreno had to wear dark make-up to play her own race. Many non-Latin actors have played Latino roles, with varying degrees of success: Hank Azaria, Johnny Depp, and Anjelica Houston have all played Latinos. There have even been white actors in historical representations of Latino history. Ethan Hawke played a Uraguayan in Alive and Ben Affleck’s character in Argo was based on half-Mexican CIA agent Tony Mendez.
As recently as Lena Dunham’s episode of SNL, non-Latino actress Cecily Strong plays a Venezuelan whose humor and conflict derive from the fact that she can’t speak English. With no Latino performers on SNL, characters like this seem insensitive. Plus, there's that accent — Strong's costar Kate McKinnon has played Latin characters and can at least do a convincing accent.
Key to Success: Play Another Race?
Moreno played Tuptim in The King and I. Almost 60 years later, successful Latino actors find more success playing outside their race. Dominican/Puerto Rican actress Zoe Saldana has found more commercial success playing characters identified as black and non-Latino. Alexis Bledel, Frankie Muniz, and Aubrey Plaza are all assumed to be Caucasian and often cast with Caucasian parents and relatives. Even Martin and Charlie Sheen found it necessary to change their name from Estevez.
Banished to Basic Cable
It seems like the most diversity exists on basic cable. It’s hard to believe that Wizards of Waverly Place is more representative of a modern family than the eponymous sitcom. It features a bi-racial Latino/American family. Everyone can speak English and the children still have a sense of culture. ABC Family shows like The Fosters and Switched at Birth include multiple series regulars that are Latino. The shining beacon on television is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It has two Latin actresses Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero offering atypical and actually inspirational portrayals of Latinos. This is progress considering Beatriz played Vergara’s ignorant Colombian cousin in an episode of Modern Family. Check out how Beatriz describes her strong and accent-less role as success for Latinos.
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Bravo
Beyond just sharing a city with Seinfeld, The Real Housewives of New York also shares a theme: it, too, is a show about nothing. There is a lot of sitting in restaurants, talking, and tons of rhetorical questions. What’s the deal with Ramona Singer? If this was any other franchise, Ramona aka Eye-Lander would be laughing maniacally on mountain of empty Pinot Grigio bottles. After all, she is the only one. The last surviving original New York Housewife.
The episode starts off so bland it makes rice cakes jealous. Heather Thomson stops by Carole Radziwill’s photo shoot. The original singer for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem needs an author photo for the book she plugged last season. Heather is serving as her stylist. She also wants to assert her place as the most annoying backseat photographer in history. She annoys the poor photographer so much the woman literally tries to push Heather away. Holla!
Heather is having a birthday party and guess who’s invited? If you guessed the entire secretarial pool from Sean Jean’s 1998 sales team, you’d be right... and bored. Heather has dusted off her Rolodex to remind everyone she worked for P. Diddy. But everyone at the party is so dated and uncool they still call him Puffy. Her party is the first time all the ladies will be in the same room since the reunion.
Sonja Morgan shows up with her new boyfriend, Ben Benalloul. By new we mean 23 years young. Not only is she dating this Pretty Little Liars extra. Mrs. J.P. Morgan is also spending the hours of 2:00 to 2:45 AM with Aviva Drescher’s ex-husband Harry. Ben stumbles right into Kristen Taekman the new housewife. She gets her montage in the sun. She’s a wacky model, an absentee mother, and a trophy wife!
Back at the party, Aviva arrives in a flurry of black smoke. Ramona confesses she couldn’t see it but she felt “black smoke” all of a sudden. If you couldn’t see it... why does it have to be black? Apparently, when Countess LuAnn de Lesseps left the show a part of her soul went into Aviva. It was the horcrux LuAnn never intended to make. That must be why the entire group declared a fatwa on Aviva.
As expected, the Aviva apology tour goes horribly. She says she’s writing a book and asks Carole for help, which evolves into a passive aggressive assumption she’ll do the editing. She apologizes to Sonja and makes peace but Sonja is too drunk she thinks she’s Fran Drescher. Then she punches Ramona in the throat... okay, she doesn’t really, but you can tell that she thought about it. She apologizes to Ramona and references her age as a reason she should forgive Aviva.
The show takes a brief trip to Sonja’s House of Mysteries. How is this house being paid for? How can someone staff their entire house with unpaid interns working for college credit? Who keeps a dog under a red sheet on their mantle? Who is the battiest woman to ever be on Bravo? Sonja has her minions make tea for the girls. The afternoon quickly devolves into dissecting Sonja’s bad hostess skills and the question of how Ramona should handle Aviva. There is nice color commentary by Sonja’s spiritual guide, Ally Sheedy’s twin sister. Hardly Lucid. Apparently, Sonja has embraced a spiritual path since she has no other marketable skills.
Ramona decides to have drinks with Aviva. She tries to dress away the extra years in an outfit she picked up at Forever 21. The two bond over Ramona’s favorite activity: binge drinking. Apparently, "turtle time" is ancient Sanskrit for "alcoholism." The expression goes back to old cave paintings when early man actually drank out of turtles.
It looks like the season is going to be filled with tons of drama, batty ladies yelling, and Aviva flips her leg!
Cracks 5th Avenue: Best Lines of the Night
"When I see Ramona losing it, I’m like, she gets too Ramotional." – Sonja’s witty rambling
"For me, age is just a number. I went from 80 to 20 in six seconds. My ex is in his 80s and Ben’s in his 20s. People are ageless to me." – Sonja doesn't grasp irony
"Sonja has as many men as she has interns. And some of them are the same age." – Heather
"I think I need to write a book called I Love My Kids But This F**king Sucks." – Model parent Kristen
"What can I say, Big Ben. He’s the Big to my Bang." – Unused dialogue from Sonja’s toaster oven porno
"I mean, not only is she tall and pretty, but she’s weird. That’s like the hat trick of fun for me." – Carole about Kristen
"When you’re early I’ll start back up on the b***jobs." – Kristen’s feminist mission statement
"Aviva is a charmer. She’s suckin’ up my ass big time." – Ramona mixing metaphors
"The shot wasn’t bad. I’ve swallowed much worse." – Oh Aviva...
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Columbia Pictures
Hollywood is a magical place where you can go from the mail room to the board room. It takes time to build a career and a lot of small roles before the big break. But one major role can turn you into a household name. Some of Hollywood’s hottest actors have small roles in memorable movies that will leave you shocked you missed them.
Melissa McCarthy in Charlie’s Angels
McCarthy is a comedic powerhouse who became a household name after 2011's Bridesmaids. It may be hard to believe that she was once a near-extra who called Lucy Liu a b**ch in Charlie’s Angels. She also had a small role in Go and was featured in the trailer.
Jennifer Lawrence on My Super Sweet 16 promos
Lawrence is so successful at the young age of 23, it can be hard to believe she's been in the business for years already. Lawrence started off playing the title character's daughter on The Bill Engvall Show, and found a spot in these promos for a particularly regrettable reality series.
Paula Patton in Hitch
Patton's relationship with Robin Thicke post-Blurred Lines has put her name on everyone’s lips. She has found success in the Mission Impossible films and has some buzz around her film career. But back in 2005, her first role was in this questionably funny Will Smith comedy.
Christina Hendricks on Undressed
Hendricks found the role of a lifetime as Mad Men's waning queen bee Joan Holloway. Long before playing the strong but unfortunate advertising agency secretary, however, Hendricks appeared on MTV’s sex-fueled soap Undressed.
Rooney Mara in Youth in Revolt
Before her ascension to films like The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Side Effects, Mara starred in this forgettable Michael Cera offbeat comedy. With this movie, she kicked off her pattern of playing intense, intelligent, and sexual characters... a pratice that has served her well.
Rashida Jones &amp; Steven Moyer in Ny-Lon
Granted, you wouldn't really call a starring role in a series a "small" one. However, this British TV show is widely unknown in the States, so we'll count it. Jones played a New Yorker in a long-distance relationship with a British businessman (Moyer).
Jane Krakowski in Vacation
People remember Krakowski for 30 Rock and her role on Ally McBeal, but she began the trade as a child actor. She delivers one of the most memorable lines in this popular 1980s comedy.
Steve Carell in Curly Sue
Now one of Hollywood’s biggest comedy actors, Carell started his film career with a non-speaking role. He might not be the first actor to play a background waiter, but very few of those were called "Tesio."
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Warner Bros via Everett Collection
We might never understand why some amazingly talented actors continuously make bad movies. Sure, actors need paychecks to buy gold-plated toilet seats or pay taxes. Things can happen with the script, edit, or production that can ruin the film. But that doesn't explain why some performers seem pathologically drawn to horrible roles.
Uma Thurman
Thurman has proven herself an amazing actress, bringing down the house in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill movies. Plus, despite the lack of commercial success, Gattaca was a decent watch for cleaning-your-apartment days. However, she has made some major duds. Batman &amp; Robin single-handedly killed the pre-Nolan Batman franchise with bad puns. The remake of the hit 1960s series The Avengers was maligned by audiences and critics. My Super Ex-Girlfriend is like an amazing SNL sketch painfully stretched out for 90 minutes. And as for Prime? Let's just say that is one of the few movies that did not earn Meryl Streep an Oscar nomination.
Lee Pace
Pace showcased his acting abilities by playing real-life transgender activist Calpernia Addams in Showtime’s Soldier’s Girl. He also starred in the cult-classic television series Pushing Daisies. And yet, despite his leading man good looks, distinct voice, and acting chops, he hasn’t been able to get plumb roles. He starred in the painful romantic comedy When in Rome, the misguided remake of the newspaper comic Marmaduke, and joined the Twilight and Lord of the Rings franchises three movies too late.
Emmy Rossum
Rossum is the star of the successful Showtime series Shameless. She also burst onto the scene in the film version of Phantom of the Opera. And yet, she hasn’t been able to star in a good film recently. It’s strange, because she has the looks and musical talent of Anne Hathaway without her polarizing "humility." And yet, she starred in the failed adaptation of the anime Dragonball: Evolution, the young adult novel Beautiful Creatures, and the remake of The Poseidon Adventure.
Adrien Brody
Brody, best remembered for winning an Oscar for The Pianist and subsequently making out with Halle Berry, seems to alternate between amazing performances and horrible movies. In the indie Detachment, he played a misanthropic substitute teacher trying to inspire his students. But he also starred in the obscenely horrific InAPPropriate Comedy, playing a character named Flirty Harry, and the equally regrettable High School. Sadly, his few forays into big-budget leading man roles — Predators, The Village, and King Kong — didn’t catapult him into superstardom or win over audiences.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Parker has made millions off playing Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. However, aside from the two films in the series and the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus, she doesn’t have a lot of great films to speak for her talent. This is the girl from Footloose — she deserves better. She starred in the wildly unsuccessful movie remake of Strangers with Candy, the dismal Dudley Do-Right, and Mars Attacks!... not to mention New Year’s Eve, by far the worst celeb-filled holiday film. Despite finding fame playing a sex expert, her rom-coms Failure to Launch, If Lucy Fell, and Did You Hear About the Morgans have been flatter than a Jimmy Choo ballet slipper.
Eh, it's a living.
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Summit Entertainment
Alongside Hollywood veterans Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, and Tony Goldwyn and two young leads (Shailene Woodley, Theo James) who have already built up quite the impressive C.V., Divergent's ensemble cast also includes several virtual unknowns. Here's a brief guide to their careers so far.Ansel Elgort (Caleb)
The son of fashion photographer Arthur Elgort, 19-year-old Elgort's career began on stage in Matt Charman's off-Broadway drama Regrets. After making his big screen debut as Chloe Moretz's prom date in last year's Carrie remake, the New Yorker landed the role of Tris' inquisitive brother Caleb Prior. Elgort will then make the switch from playing Woodley's sibling to her love interest when they both star in the adaptation of John Green's best-selling novel, The Fault In Our Stars, while he's also set to appear in Jason Reitman's star-studded comedy Men, Women and Children.
Amy C. Newbold (Molly)
Amy C. Newbold is no stranger to the Hollywood blockbuster, having worked as a casting assistant on Superman reboot Man Of Steel as well as on the likes of Contagion and Raising Hope. But as Tris' factionless enemy Molly Atwood, Divergent will see her move from behind to in front of the camera for her first major acting role, with bit parts in Boss and Chicago Fire the only other credits to her name.
Ben Lamb (Edward)
Cast as skilled fighter Edward, Ben Lamb made the move to post-apocalyptic Chicago from medieval England after playing The White Queen's brother Anthony in the BBC's hit historical drama. The 25-year-old, who'd previously studied at both RADA and Oxford University, cut his teeth appearing in various Shakespeare productions and made his onscreen debut as a posh toff in BBC legal drama Silks in 2012.
Christian Madsen (Al)
One of the more experienced "unknowns" in the cast, Christian Madsen has appeared alongside his father Michael in deliverance tale Refuge from the Storm and off-kilter thriller The Brazen Bull and his auntie Virginia in comedy Jake Squared, while he also had a minor role in Justin Timberlake vehicle In Time. Cast as kind-hearted Al, he'll next be seen as Bryan, a young man who reunites with his estranged father after 15 years in the indie drama Prism.
Ben Lloyd-Hughes (Will)
Following his older brother Henry's role in Harry Potter &amp; The Goblet Of Fire, the Lloyd-Hughes name will appear in the credits of another major franchise when 25-year-old Ben plays Tris' brainy ally Will. He first appeared on screen as a teenager in BBC drama Love Soup back in 2005 and has since cropped up in a string of hit British TV shows including Skins, The Hour and Young James Herriot. While his filmography includes teen horror Tormented and the 2012 remake of Great Expectations.
Divergent hits theaters March 21. You can check showtimes and purchase advanced tickets at Movietickets.com.
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